Las Vegas Weekly

Hop on the bandwagon

What you need to know to jump on the UNLV hoops train

Tre’von Willis

Photo: Beverly Poppe

Coming off of a 25-9 season, which was capped with the program’s third trip to the NCAA tournament in four years, buzz is already building for the 2010-11 UNLV men’s basketball season.

With the town’s lack of a major, professional sports franchise, Rebels hoops has long been considered to be the cornerstone “franchise,” so to speak, in Las Vegas.

The peak of that popularity obviously came in the late 1980s and early ’90s, highlighted by Jerry Tarkanian’s wildly popular squad claiming the 1990 NCAA men’s hoops title.

Some believe that the closest the program will come to reclaiming that spot in Las Vegas’s collective heart will be this season, with seven of the team’s top eight scorers from a year ago returning and roughly the entire core of the 2009-10 club.

If you want a spot on the bandwagon, no one will stop you. But before jumping on, here are five things to know:

1. Don’t wear blue. It used to be frowned upon as the color of UNLV’s neighbor up north, but BYU has emerged as the Rebels’ most trendy arch nemesis of late. The rivalry has leaned in UNLV’s favor recently, though, as Lon Kruger’s teams are 8-3 against the Cougars in the past four seasons.

2. If you’re an old-school hoops purist, stay away. The Rebels are in no way shy about hoisting three-point attempts. Last season, they jacked up 20.4 a game. When they’re going in, the Thomas & Mack Center can be a deafening place.

3. When in doubt, go with No. 33. If you go into next season knowing nothing about the guys, senior guard Tre’Von Willis—No. 33, duh—will likely command your attention. On top of being UNLV’s leading scorer as a junior, at 17.2 points a contest, his nasty competitive streak and swagger are always on display. Plus, his sleeves of tattoos easily help him relate to Vegas locals.

4. You can drink at the games. Believe it or not, that’s not the case at every college hoops venue in the country. Heck, not many of them, really. The Mack Center earns major points with the adult crowd.

5. Really, don’t wear blue. Your stay on the bandwagon might be short-lived if you do.